HI my daughter had a fusion this week. of L-4 L-5-- she is only 31 yrs old and has degenerative Disk disease......

Has a fusion helped anyone.?.... get better. is it a bandade.. ?

My dauhgter has 3 children so this really concerns. me

CarenR,


I ha pretty much the same surgrey and it has helped me a great deal. Just add L1 in to it and it is the same. I think that perhaps mine was a little more intensisve as they put in the cage and rods form the front and then they did the back thing and put it all together. The surgery was on the 12th of FEb. this year and life gets just a little better every week for the most part.

I am so glad that I had the surgery and would not change a thing, I had an excellent surgery and things have went extremely well so far....


I wish your daughter the best of luck and a great recovery.


Roy47:D

Hi there and welcome to this board. I had fusion at l4/l5 last april. I am doing fantastic all things considered! I am 45, mother of two. Your daughter should be better than she was prior to the surgery. Surgery is a last resort to trying to resolve spine instability, restore spine health,and reduce or eliminate pain.

I could barely walk before my fusion surgery and it took over 3 years to find a surgeon to discover the true disc causing my pain. This particular disc as badly torn and leaking profusely. It was literally an empty shell.

What type of fusion did she have? Mine was done minimally invasive, where they made 6 tiny incisions into the skin and then dilated through the muscle tissue to gain access to my spine. Then they took out the bad disc, inserted a cage into the disc space with the cage containing some of my bone they took out of my back with a bone growing protein called BMP (bone morphenic protein), then affixed a rod on each side of the spine for stabilization, to the upper and lower facets.

I was solidly fused at 7months. BUT I continue to see improvements in my body recovering and regaining strength and mobility. I am not pain free, but was not given a guarantee to begin with. But I am 90% better than I was. Hopefully if I am able to continue to exercise and get more exercise in.. my pain will reduce even more. I feel like a normal person again!!!

So YES.. it helps MOST of us! Your daughter has a bumpy ride in healing. No bending, lifting or twisting for quite awhile, even if she feels well enough to do so. Tell her to follow the docs orders to the "T" and stay ontop of her meds, or she will feel the pain get out of control and it's much harder to get it back in control.

Take care and I hope this helps give you some hope too! :wave: :wave:

My problem is a little different, but the treatment was the same, ie, fusion. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! I still have pain and "issues", but I'm far better off than before the surgery!

Your daughter will need help with the kids for a while, but in the long run, she'll be able to care for them better than before her fusion.

I'm glad you're there for her! That will mean a lot during her recovery!

Blessings,
Emily :wave:

To your question , YES my fusion has helped me . Before my fusion my back was so tired and hurting I couldn't stand..After my fusion failed and had more fusion's I have ended up with nerve damage , I don't blame my Dr. for it , it is a chance we take with surgeries..I'm still happy I had it. But sad I needed it and still going through all of these problem's. There are folk's who had it done and are doing great. I don't believe if you have a physical job like lifting alot that you will ever be able to do it with a fusion without some pain but you can live a normal healthy life doing something that doesn't require lifting.

Like I told a friend of mine , he ask if he should have the fusion his surgeon wants to do..I said it's totally up to you...I would recommend it as long as you don't plan to abuse your spine by lifting anything over 50lbs. He had the fusion , he is a cook at a retirment home and he is working but has some bad day's but I guess we all have them..

Good luck to your daughter ,I wish her well.

Shawley

CarenR,


I ha pretty much the same surgrey and it has helped me a great deal. Just add L1 in to it and it is the same. I think that perhaps mine was a little more intensisve as they put in the cage and rods form the front and then they did the back thing and put it all together. The surgery was on the 12th of FEb. this year and life gets just a little better every week for the most part.

I am so glad that I had the surgery and would not change a thing, I had an excellent surgery and things have went extremely well so far....


I wish your daughter the best of luck and a great recovery.



Roy, i am so happy for you. Such a wonderful and cheerful post and i want to wish you to continue recovering - get stronger than ever!:blob_fire


Roy47:D

Caren, you daughter is still very young - her age will help her to recover faster. As a mother myself i know how worry you are especially because she has little kids. But she is so lucky to have you and i am sure she will be OK. :)
We all have different cases here, different conditions, age group - so don't go by us, some people like Roy is doing great, for some people it takes longer... The recovery is not and easy one, you get a lot of ups and downs; just let her take it easy and to be patient.
Wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery to your daughter.:angel: